Dig Deeper | Circ Blog

Homestead Magazines's Jackson Hole Showcase of Homes

Circ’s Homestead Magazine hosts every year the Jackson Hole Showcase of Homes event during the Jackson Hole’s Fall Arts Festival. This year we were successful in raising money for Paws of Jackson Hole, Yellowstone Park Foundation, Community Resource Center and the Jackson Hole Fire/EMS. We appreciate the opportunity for our event to give back to the community. Our participating homeowner’s pick the charity of their choice and in the last two years that is over $17,000 in local benefit from our event.

The last few months at Circ have been a flurry of excitement and creativity as we prepared to bring the newly revamped Jackson Hole Traveler to market. Now, it’s out, and we’re gearing up for a big push in advertiser storytelling, comprehensive editorial, and the simultaneous launch of our brand spankin’ new web platform in the months to come.

What’s new in Traveler this year? Here’s what you need to know, directly from our publisher:

The new Traveler is poised to reach more people than ever before in two ways: our combined print and online platform featuring Premium Digital Profiles for businesses, and the largest circulation of any print guide in the valley.

Our passion lies in connecting visitors to Jackson Hole’s most unforgettable experiences: we want them to find the perfect place to set up their camera tripods, or book the ideal raft-and-fish adventure. That’s where our research comes in. After speaking with local guest services professionals, we realized we needed to offer tools to travelers at all stages of the decision-making process.

For example: visitors can search for lodging from a mobile device on jacksonholetraveler.com. Read curated itineraries or interact with our interpretive fold-out map of Grand Teton National Park. Pick up on locally acclaimed cuisine and head right to the web to make a reservation. However travelers make decisions, Jackson Hole Traveler is there to help.

Here at Traveler, we have always been committed to storytelling. Now, through engaging advertorials, we are poised to tell the story of valley businesses in a way that will reach millions of readers. We couldn’t be more excited.

Interested in joining the pages of Jackson Hole Traveler? Contact us today at info@circ.biz or (307) 733-8319.

The Jackson Hole Showcase of Homes is a two-day, self-guided fundraising tour to experience the craftsmanship and meet the artists behind some of Jackson’s most spectacular homes.

More than the ordinary walk-through, the Jackson Hole Showcase of Homes has a superb catch: face-to-face conversations with the finest professionals in architecture, construction, interior design, landscaping and electronic systems. They will reveal the art—and perhaps the magic—behind their achievements in some of the most exciting living spaces in the West.

All ticket proceeds will benefit local charities chosen by our generous homeowners. Limited tickets available, online only. Hosted by Circ’s Homestead Magazine.

Event Dates
Friday Sept 13, 10am – 4pm
Saturday Sept 14, 12pm – 6pm

More Information
Go to www.JacksonHoleShowcase.com or contact Megan Jenkins at 307.690.8256 or megan@circ.biz.

Meet the Artists
Altamira Fine Art
Berlin Architects
Brian Goff Interior Design
Bontecou Construction
Ellis Nunn & Associates, Inc.
Jacque Jenkins-Stireman Design
Jackson Hole AV
Mill Iron Timberworks
MountainScapes, Inc.
Stephen Dynia Architects
The Bradley Company
Two Ocean Builders
Willow Creek Design
Willow Creek Woodworks

The Wyoming Business Report recently published a story on Circumerro’s launch of the EpicQuest website. Known for aggressive and comprehensive business reporting, the WBR covers news through a range of mediums, including a traditional printed monthly business journal, web-based news and an daily e-newsletter.

Circumerro worked closely with EpicQuest to develop a web experience that accurately shares the story of the firm’s pioneering efforts in the world of adventure travel.

Check out the full text of the report here.

When shaping the strategy for a web site or application in planning and budgeting efforts, it’s essential to consider the mobile solutions needed to be successful.

The studies are in, and all signs point to a massive increase in customer activity on mobile devices. Studies by Forrester, comScore, Gartner, and Nielsen reported similar findings in the neighborhood of an 81% percent increase in mobile eCommerce spending in 2012, totaling nearly $25 Billion. By 2016, conservative projections suggest nearly 30% of eCommerce spending will take place on smartphones and tablets.

eCommerce Brands can’t afford to ignore mobile channels, an area in which most online retailers are notoriously weak. However, since budgets and timelines are a factor, sometimes we have to make a choice as to what degree we can afford to optimize a web site or web application for multiple devices. Will a responsive layout suffice, or will a multiscreen ecosystem be required to create the best experience for your customers? Most importantly, it matters to your users, who ultimately hold the success of your site or app in their hands.

Circ considers the following three levels of optimization in the design and development of web sites and applications, to effectively reach customers in mobile channels.

Level 1: Mobile compatibility

Minimum viable solution; low-quality user experience.
At Circ, mobile compatibility is standard practice in web site and web application design and development, and if your site does not fully support this level of compatibility, it’s time to press the issue. Level 1 compatibility means the full functionality of the design will render effectively on any browser-enabled device. Flash and other tools or scripts that are not fully supported by tablets and mobile phones should simply not be used. At this point in time, tablets and mobile phones are primarily touchscreen devices, so all interactions within the site or application must be supported by touch UI libraries. At Level 1, the site or application is fully optimized for desktop browsers, but will scale down in size to fit smaller tablet and mobile phone displays. While the user experience is somewhat cumbersome, at least the site or app can be zoomed and scrolled effectively such that all content and functionality is fully accessible.

Level 2: Responsive layout

The sweet spot for mobile optimization; dramatically improved user experience.

One could argue that responsive layouts are already standard practice as well. But in the context of time and budget, caring for the wide range of viewport sizes of tablets and mobile phones in a responsive layout constitutes a significant effort – which might explain why so many businesses have not sufficiently addressed mobile solutions until now. Circ’s Level 2 optimizations meet all Level 1 requirements, and in addition, the UI and page layouts are crafted to respond to the device viewport rather than simply scaling down the site to fit. A responsive layout provides that most (or all) of the information and functionality available in a desktop site or app must also be retained and displayed on tablets and phones. This is where the challenge of designing appropriate interfaces for the countless viewport sizes, in both portrait and landscape orientations, becomes a requirement. It’s important to note that Level 2 efforts and greater are best decided upon in early planning stages. While it’s certainly feasible to optimize a site or app by retrofitting or extending the interface to meet multiple display requirements, a great deal of modification to the code base will likely be required for the best solution.

Level 3: Design by context

More than just optimization, a multiscreen ecosystem; ideal user experience.

At this level, we’re addressing the combined use of multiple devices in varying contexts, as part of a single product. The assumption is that the site or app could be used at home, at work, and on the go using any number of web-enabled tools. Depending on the purpose of your site or app, certain tasks and information supported on desktop and tablet browsers may not be relevant or appropriate in a mobile environment. Do users need complete access to all tasks and information? Or will a specific subset of features deliver a better experience for users on the go? Take it a step further, into the creation of a multiscreen ecosystem – how do the contexts of use of any device (desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, even SmartTVs) play a role in a seamless experience? This UX Magazine article thoroughly addresses the topic in great clarity.

For many businesses a mobile site will suffice, but the benefits of a native app (iOS, Android, Windows Phone) are huge. Performance, usability, offline viewing, push notifications, and tie-ins to the device’s other features like payment options and addresses are just a few. Native apps give your brand a reliable presence on the user’s device, and can be seamlessly launched from a link on a web site or email. At Circ, we leverage design and programming efficiencies that can make the creation of combined mobile site and native app platforms a more viable solution for businesses that require them.

Circ client, STM Bags, has been recognized by iLounge as “2012 Accessory Maker of the Year,” the site’s annual Readers’ Choice award.

If you’re a hoarder of Apple iDevices, you may have heard of iLounge, one of the most comprehensive publishers of reports and information about Apple’s mobile products and the myriad of related accessories. At over 20 million page hits each month, iLounge has become a go-to source with it’s editorial reviews, forums, and resources for informed iConsumers.

Since our initial design and launch of stmbags.com in the spring of 2010, Circ has been a part of the creative and technical force behind STM’s website, helping the company reach retailers and customers online. At Circ, we feel an enormous sense of pride when a client brand is appreciated for quality, creativity, and excellence in their market. Congratulations to our colleagues at STM, notably Adam Ziegelman and team.

An excerpt from the press release:

SAN DIEGO, /PRNewswire/ —

Leading Australian bag and case manufacturer STM has won the prestigious iLounge Apple Accessory Maker of the Year Award. iLounge’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards recognizes third party developers for their excellent work throughout the year.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by iLounge and their readers,” said Adina Jacobs, STM’s co-founder. “It is always nice to be acknowledged as a leader in your field and coming from iLounge makes it more special.”

“After thousands of votes—and very passionate, neck-and-neck tallies up to the very last minute—STM prevailed as iLounge’s Readers’ Choice for Accessory Developer of the Year,” explained Jeremy Horwitz, iLounge’s Editor-in-Chief. “Our editors have loved STM’s bags for years, and have been thrilled to see its recent and impressive expansions into iPad and iPhone case development. We can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Hundreds of new Apple products are tested every year by iLounge. For the Readers’ Choice Awards, iLounge nominated a select group of organizations deemed by their editors as leaders in their respective fields. Winners were determined solely by thousands of iLounge readers who cast their votes throughout the month of October. STM joins other 2012 winners such as Google, Apple, JBL and Disney.

—

Learn more about STM Bags at www.stmbags.com.

We all enjoy the little details in life that make our experiences simpler and more memorable. The same is true for web and mobile applications. But these little details are anything but little in their role in the user experience as a whole. They make our interaction with the device easier and faster, and sometimes even bring a smile to our faces.

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Think about it. When you visit a new website or download a new app, what are the things that make you bookmark the website or keep you from deleting the app? Does the design and functionality enhance your overall experience? Does the application subtly guide you to your desired outcome, helping you along the way without getting in the way? The details might be so subtle that you don’t notice them at first, and maybe you’ve seen them so many times in different applications that they’ve become second nature and even expected.

The first and foremost priority in building a web or mobile application is always to satisfy the needs of the user and the business. Nevertheless, it’s the execution of the basic needs and little details that make all the difference, that make a good application great. Paired with a solid core application—one with good design and functionality, well-written content, and interesting or helpful subject matter—clever details can take the application, and more importantly the user’s experience, to the next level and beyond.

An application that demonstrates an understanding of our needs and desires can be very powerful on an emotional level, alongside the aesthetic and functional levels. For example, have you ever noticed that the street view icon in Google Maps has a surfboard in Hawaii? Or that Google Maps also advises against going to Mordor? These details don’t interrupt the application’s function or get in your way, but they add a touch of personality that makes the application feel less static and more inviting.

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Say you’re comparing two new apps with the same basic function. They both look good aesthetically and the writing is clear and meaningful. But one app uses date and time pickers, auto-populates your user information and location, and smoothly handles device orientation changes. The other requires you to type in the date, time and location repeatedly, painstakingly input all your user information, and is forever stuck in landscape orientation. Both apps allow you to achieve the same goal, but the first app makes it much easier and faster. Which would you keep?

Here at Circ, we’re all about paying attention to the little details, about going the extra mile to create the best applications and experiences possible for businesses and their customers alike. And at the end of the day, that’s what counts.

Looks like we’re not the only ones who think our new identity is newsworthy: the Jackson Hole News and Guide covered our name and strategy change in their Business Focus section, highlighting Circ as one of Jackson’s growing and evolving businesses. In case you didn’t catch us in the paper, check out the coverage below:

After 17 years in business, Circumerro Media has shortened its name to Circ.

“We’re rolling out an updated identity this month that reflects our successful evolution as a company and the work we are doing today,” Latham Jenkins, founder and president, said. “Circumerro is a Latin word that means to travel, which historically has been our focus.”

Circ’s local publications, Jackson Hole Traveler and Homestead, have been great successes for the agency. Advertisers in these publications have sustained the company during the last 17 years, helping to grow Circ’s creative services. The design agency now serves client brands across the country through its core services: branding, e-commerce design, and mobile and web application development.

Circ’s clients span various industries, such as health care, online media, technology, apparel and artificial surfacing. Its client roster has included companies like Cigna, Remedy Health Media, Dell, XGrass and Cloudveil.

“Over the years, nearly everyone who has touched the agency has come to call it “Circ,” and it seemed only natural to embrace the shortened name,” Jenkins said. “The change of the name and identity reflects the evolution of the company’s brand and the work that defines the company now.”

Today, Circ is a multidisciplinary communication design agency. Recently, much of Circ’s work has been a response to the disruption that new technologies create for businesses and the need to build brand experiences that address it. Whether it’s designing e-commerce websites and mobile platforms or building more unified digital strategies, Circ thrives on creating value within digital channels that deliver engaging brand experiences and build brand loyalty.

Circ understands that word-of-mouth is one of the most effective means by which experiences are shared, and to leverage that kind sharing, businesses need to engage their audiences and create conversations around their brand. Circ represents the circular nature of these conversations and is expressed in its new tag-line: “Great brands live in conversation.”

—Katy Niner

Not long ago, Dust Cutter consulted Circ about extending their startup beverage brand into sales collateral and social media. Dust Cutter is a family recipe of Lemonade and Lemon Tea from the Warm Springs Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As you could only expect, the brand has a true-to-life cowboy backstory that’s as iconic as it is authentic.

As the story goes, in the Old West, after a long day on the dusty trail, fresh squeezed lemonade was just the thing to cut your thirst. If you’re not already picturing Clint Eastwood or Sam Elliot, I’d love to hear what did come to mind. For us, the ubiquitous yet mysterious persona of the cowboy lends itself perfectly for a close up photo of a thick dusty moustache.

Looking around, one can find all kinds of moustache propaganda for creative inspiration.

Surely, you can recall one of the most memorable and longest running campaigns featuring the moustache, the celebrity “Milk Mustache” concept by MilkPEP. Adopting Goodby, Silverstein & Partners 1993 “Got Milk?” slogan, MilkPEP began their celebrity campaign in 1995 with Naomi Campbell. Fast forward to 2012—hundreds of celebrity milk moustaches later—and we see our summer Olympians sporting the same distinctive white lip we’ve all come to associate with “Got Milk?”

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If for some reason, over the last decade, you haven’t heard of “Movember,” now is as good a time as any to become one of over a million Moustache growers in support of changing the face of men’s health each year (ladies too!). According to the official rules, Mo Bros begin the month of November clean shaven—then groom and shape their show of support throughout the month. Together with the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Livestrong, Movember has raised over $175M to date.
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Also, we can’t fail to acknowledge our friends at Wieden+Kennedy for bringing us actor Isaiah Mustafa, in a hilarious series of spots for Old Spice. Clearly, a thick moustache… on a well groomed man… on a boat… is a recipe for brilliance.

From milk to Movember, from deodorant to beer, moustaches are everywhere.

We introduced the Dust Cutter cowboy on Facebook in April, 2012, proud to contribute the old west cookie duster story to the annals of moustache-driven advertising. As we continue to help grow the brand, we’ll keep our eyes out for new takes on this irresistible feature of male grooming in the public sphere. Like this new spot we saw just last week during the NBA playoffs (also from Wieden+Kennedy… is there a trend here?) for Heineken Light, representing the handlebar:

With so many moustache ads currently in play, we couldn’t possibly mention them all here. So, feel free to comment and contribute your favorites in this space.

Homestead Magazine 2012 has arrived! This year’s edition features exciting new content, including personal style spotlights on of some of Jackson’s best-known tastemakers, and the collaborations of our region’s innovative architects, builders, designers, writers and artists.

Homestead readers will get an exclusive look into the personal spaces of MADE’s Jon Frechette, lover of all things quirky and handmade, and stylist Jairus Noble who brings glamour and style to his clientele at his high-end salon. Amanda Roberston, of women’s clothing & accessories boutique Rodeo, shares her classic antiques and precious family heirlooms, and fashion designer and art dealer Shari Brownfield showcases her home’s eclectic style and mixed materials.

Homestead also features the professional design picks of select local tastemakers. We’ve included Larry Berlin’s favorite standout architectural elements, and Brian Goff’s interior design inspirations. Readers will also find Kate Binger’s picks for crafting beautiful personal home decor, as well as the favorite finishing touches and classic details of Jane Cater-Getz of Belle Cose and Goodie 2 Shoes. These individuals’ diverse design aesthetics and discerning tastes add beauty to their surroundings every day, inspiring our community and infusing Teton valley with its signature culture and charm.

Also be sure to check out our four Dream Home feature pieces, where each comprehensive spread showcases one of Jackson’s most breathtaking collaborations of construction and design. Readers will see a slope-side ski-in lodge by Acanthus Architecture, Trauner Designs, Bounticou Construction and Coax Jax, and a picturesque ranch home made from the timber of a 100 year-old barn in Ohio by Dan Schou Construction, Red Chair Design Studio, and MountainScapes.

Readers will glimpse into a 6,700 square foot rustic lodge with a contemporary but casual European flare by Architect William H. Childs Jr. and Associates, Kurt Wimberg Construction, and Snake River Interiors. And in the Dream Home collaboration of Stephen Dynia Architects and Dynamic Custom Homes, readers will learn that structure is an ever-evolving play of space, light, unusual angles and dynamic views. We thought this mixed-level Shooting Star home was such a standout that we even selected its kitchen for our cover shot.

Find your copy of Homestead 2012 online at www.homesteadmag.com, and visit the magazine’s blog, where you can subscribe to updates from Homestead all year long. Pick up your free hard copy at lodging establishments across Jackson Hole and the Rocky Mountain West, or contact us at info@circ.biz to join our mailing list or become a distributor.

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Fundraising Success

Introducing the New Jackson Hole Traveler!

Circ’s Homestead Mag to host Jackson Hole Showcase of Homes

Circumerro Featured in Wyoming Business Report

3 Levels of Mobile Solutions eCommerce Brands Can’t Afford to Ignore

Level 1: Mobile compatibility

Level 2: Responsive layout

Level 3: Design by context

STM Bags Wins iLounge Award

It’s the Little Things

Circ in the Jackson Hole News & Guide

Moustaches in Advertising

Announcing Homestead 2012!